The daily gossip: Ben Affleck would 'absolutely not' direct a movie for James Gunn, Rachel Zegler joined the DC universe because she 'needed a job,' and more

1. Ben Affleck would 'absolutely not' direct a DC movie for James Gunn

Holy "hard pass," Batman! Ben Affleck told The Hollywood Reporter he has zero interest in returning to DC as a director, an idea floated by new DC boss James Gunn. "I would not direct something for the [James] Gunn DC," Affleck said. "Absolutely not." Affleck played Batman in the pre-Gunn DC universe but isn't expected to reprise the role going forward. Gunn previously met with Affleck, though, and claimed the actor "really wants to direct one of our projects," adding, "We're excited for him doing that." Well, he sure isn't! Affleck, who said his "miserable" experience making Justice League made him realize he didn't "want to do any of this again," told the Reporter he has "nothing against" Gunn but "wouldn't want to go in and direct in the way they're doing that." We can only assume this means Gunn revealed himself to be a massive Dunkin' hater during that meeting.

The Hollywood Reporter

2. Rachel Zegler joined the DC universe because she 'needed a job'

While we're on the subject of headlines DC must love to see on the day their new movie opens, at the premiere of Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Rachel Zegler gave a surprisingly blunt answer about why she wanted to join the franchise: to be paid, duh! When The Hollywood Reporter asked the West Side Story star what made her "want to step into this world of DC heroes," Zegler kept it real by responding, "I needed a job. I'm being so serious." She continued that after she filmed West Side Story but before it came out, she "couldn't get a job for the life of me," and that's when the Shazam! sequel came along. "So I was really excited when this came in my inbox," she said. Oh, and "I loved the first movie," Zegler added. But also, you know, beggars can't be choosers. More like fury of the DC PR reps.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Hollywood Reporter

3. Billie Eilish is making her acting debut in Donald Glover's new show

Does Billie Eilish have her eye on the "E" in "EGOT"? Eilish is set to make her acting debut in Donald Glover's new show, Swarm. The "Bad Guy" singer revealed her involvement by sharing a clip from the series where she performs opposite Dominique Fishback. It's not totally clear what's going on in the creepy scene, in which Eilish asks Fishback's character whether she hurt someone while eerily smiling. From Amazon Prime Video, Swarm is about fans of a famous pop star who appear to be heavily inspired by Beyoncé's "Bey Hive." Eilish has never acted professionally before now unless you count a Simpsons short she appeared in for Disney+. She's reportedly playing a character named Eva, who may or may not be a ... bad guy. Either way, get ready for more whispering than an ASMR video.

Uproxx

4. Christina Ricci was threatened with a lawsuit for not wanting to do a sex scene 'in a certain way'

Much has changed in Hollywood since Christina Ricci got her start, and, she says, thank goodness for that. On The View, Ricci discussed the fact that the "older ladies" on Yellowjackets frequently talk about how "it's amazing to see" that their younger co-stars "don't have to necessarily go through the things that we had to go through," and they're able to say, for example, "I don't want to do this sex scene. I'm not going to be naked." Ricci explained she wasn't necessarily afforded this same freedom, citing one experience in particular. "Someone threatened to sue me once because I didn't want to do this sex scene in a certain way," she revealed. The Wednesday star didn't provide further details or name the project where this happened. But she applauded the fact that these days, actresses "can set boundaries for themselves that we were never allowed to do."

Entertainment Weekly

5. Bruce Campbell shuts down heckler at 'Evil Dead Rise' premiere: 'Get the f--k out of here!'

Folks, hecking a film premiere is not groovy. Bruce Campbell fired back at a heckler who disrupted a Q&A after a screening of Evil Dead Rise at South by Southwest on Wednesday night. "This movie f--king sucks!" the person shouted, drawing boos from the audience. The guest appeared to angrily throw his popcorn bucket in the air as he stormed out. But like in a horror movie, just when everyone thought it was over, the heckler lingered in the theater and continued yelling. "What are you doing here?" Campbell, a producer on the movie, finally shouted. "Get the f--k out of here!" Producer Robert Tapert, meanwhile, was just astonished that this guy "waited all the way through the credits" to do this. He's lucky Campbell didn't have his boomstick handy.

Deadline